Wampum

by Elijah Butler

wampum (noun)

1: beads of polished shell strung in strands, belts, or sashes and used by North American Indians as money, ceremonial pledges, or ornaments

2 dated, informal: MONEY [1]

Context

Wampum is typically seen in the form of beads made from the shells of quahogs, a type of hard clam. Historically, the two types of wampum were called white or black. The black as it is called is actually purple, although in some cases it can be dark enough to look almost black.

Ninnimissinûwock

Long Island Sound was one of the largest wampum producing regions. In what is now southern New England, the Pequots, Narragansetts, and other coastal tribes collected quahogs and used their shells to make the wampum beads that were used throughout the Northeastern Woodlands. Wampum was not “Indian money” as it was called by the Europeans who first encountered it. There are many different Indigenous interpretations of wampum, but many of them surround concepts of respect. For the coastal tribes who made the beads, the quahog was an important food source. Out of respect for both the beauty of the shell and the life of the clam used for food, the shells were then used to craft beads. Quahogs are found along the east coast of what is now Canada and the United States, but those with the most “black” color are found in the waters around Long Island and Cape Cod. These beads were strung into belts and given as gifts in important ceremonies as well as being used for other purposes. The idea that wampum was money can be traced back to at least 1624. The story says that the Dutch purchased the island of Manhattan from the natives using a few European tools as well as strings of wampum. The usual story talks about how the Dutch bought a great piece of land for a few items of little value, but from the native perspective, they received useful tools that they could not make themselves and lost a small amount of land that had little use to them. [2] The concept of wampum as money was later used to trade European goods for wampum with coastal tribes, and then take that wampum further inland to trade for furs and other goods with tribes that couldn’t produce wampum themselves but still had much respect and use for the beads.

Haudenosaunee qah Massanipsash

Wampum belts were common throughout the Eastern Woodlands for various ceremonies such as weddings and burials, but the most famous are the treaty belts that come from the Haudenosaunee. There were wampum keepers tasked with memorizing the treaties or histories that the belts represented and passing this knowledge to the next wampum keeper. [3] Wampum belts were often gifts showing respect to the wearer. They also represented a tribe's history, as well as treaties or other agreements made between multiple tribes. While wampum was often used for peace agreements, it was also used for declarations of war. A messenger would carry strings of white or purple beads meaning peace or war respectively. [4] As the Haudenosaunee had various conflicts and agreements with surrounding tribes, the Abenaki and the tribes surrounding the Great Lakes are also known to have used wampum belts for similar purposes.

Wautaconâuog qah monêash

The French, Dutch, and English all encountered wampum in the regions they were colonizing. Seeing belts used as gifts often given to one another, they assumed it was the currency used by all native nations of the Americas. In many cases, there was a direct conversion rate established between European coins and white or black wampum. This use as a currency was primarily used to create a source of money in colonies where few coins were available as well as establish trade with various tribes. [5] Wampum was vital to the fur trade in the region creating a higher demand for both wampum and furs. In southern New England, the tribes used a tributary system where the individual villages and tributary tribes gave a portion of their resources to the Grand Sachem. The Grand Sachem would then redistribute the resources to the villages based on their needs. As the desire for wampum grew, Grand Sachems used this tributary system to get more wampum through tribute. [6] He who controls the wampum controls the trade. This shift in the tribute system centralized power in the Grand Sachem and led to a desire to establish more tributaries in wampum producing regions. Among the tribes, the Pequots and Narragansetts were the two main competitors for wampum production. The Dutch and the English were the primary colonial powers competing for trade with these tribes. The desire to control wampum production led to increased tensions between all of these groups and eventually started the first colonial wars in the region.

Massamicúckaskeete

While wampum was traded throughout the regions around where quahog shells were found, it was less common the further West you went. Because of the colonial concept of wampum as a currency used by natives, various expeditions brought strings of wampum to trade with. By the time American expeditions began passing through the Great Plains, wampum had been mass-produced for many years. One company could make one million purple beads per year. These beads were then sold to traders and federal Indian Agents who used them in exchange with natives further North or West. [7] Wampum had sometimes been introduced to the tribes in the West by tribes migrating from the East, but large quantities of wampum were not seen until they were brought by Euro-American traders. The Western tribes did not have the same understanding of wampum or how it was used in the East. While it was still sometimes accepted in trade, it was primarily used for ornamental purposes rather than being used in ceremony or treaty-making. Trade goods taken West were chosen based on the preferences of the local tribes, and although traditional wampum beads were used, there was an increased desire for longer shell beads. [8] These were still labeled wampum despite not being true wampum as made by Eastern tribes. While wampum was not used for the same ceremonial purposes, it was still a status symbol desired by many. The beads were often used in earrings, necklaces, hairpins, and breastplates. Another break from Eastern tradition was the association of white wampum with peace and the black with war. The Western tribes often used alternating white and black beads in their designs but still occasionally used strings of purely white or black. [9] Eventually, glass beads were made to look like wampum and could be produced at a lower cost. This in combination with most tribes being placed on reservations ended the wampum trade by the end of the 1800s.

Anamakéesuck

Wampum is still common today throughout Indian Country both by the communities that historically used it and other tribes that have incorporated it into their own styles of art. Due to the cost and time it takes to produce beads from quahog shells, some use glass beads made to look like wampum. In the Northeast where shells are common, true shell beads are still made and used in many different communities. Those who make beads or cut other pieces of wampum often use wet saws and powered drills to speed up the wampum-cutting process, but some still use more traditional tools like awls and sandstone for drilling and polishing beads. Most wampum beaders today make the beads that they use in various pieces like earrings or necklaces. There are a few that produce wampum beads in large quantities to both make jewelry and sell the beads to other artists. When the practice of wampum beading was being taught and popularized among the tribes that historically produced wampum, true wampum beads were hard to come by. In many places, it was difficult to accumulate enough shells to produce a significant amount of wampum. This increased demand for wampum inspired some to establish bead-making companies where shells are more common. [10] As beads became more available, more people were able to start beading. Beading alone helped to continue the traditions of wampum, but the full process of making the beads yourself shows the time and effort it takes to complete the process. From my personal experience, I have always admired the work of wampum artists, but I did not fully appreciate the process until I started cutting beads myself. I am learning from a Narragansett man who runs a wampum shop in Rhode Island. He has a pile of shells in his yard and is often given more by people who know about his shop. [11] He learned about wampum as a child from elders, and he has taught two others who now work with him in his shop. Learning the process in this way teaches more people about the process of making wampum and also transfers the traditional knowledge about the meaning of wampum to our peoples. As more people learn to make wampum, there are more who can teach about it. While it was once used for money by settlers, the goals of wampum makers today is to continue the traditional practice and correct the misconception that wampum money originated from the tribes that used it.

Nupeqâtoo nutay Mushôtuhquk qah Missituck qah Pawcatuck. Kutâputômush Paumpagussit. Kutâputush nuwucheekooôkanak qah wamee neetôpawak. Nutomup uk wechâkum.

[1] Merriam-Webster

[2] Revard, “Beads, Wampum, Money, Words—and Old English Riddles.” (1999)

[3] Jourdan, “Wampum: Our Historical Record.” (2013)

[4] Tweedy, “From Beads to Bounty: How Wampum Became America’s First Currency—And Lost Its Power.” (2018)

[5] Herman, “Wampum as a Money in Northeastern North America.” (1956)

[6] Tweedy (2018)

[7] Tweedy (2018)

[8] Keagle, “EASTERN BEADS, WESTERN APPLICATIONS: WAMPUM AMONG PLAINS TRIBES.” (2013)

[9] Keagle (2013)

[10] Mitchell, “The Magic of Wampum and the Story Behind Our New Acquisition.” (2023)

[11] Miller, “Handcrafted History.” (2016)